Salim Hamdan
| place_of_birth = Wadi Hadhramaut, Yemen | date_of_death = | place_of_death = | id_number = 149 | group = al-Qaeda | alias = Saqr al-Jedawi | charge = Conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism | penalty = | status = Transferred to Yemen | occupation = | spouse = Umm Fatima | parents = | children = Two daughters born 2000, 2002 }} Salim Ahmed Hamdan ( ) (born 1970) is a Yemeni man, captured during the invasion of Afghanistan, and imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. He admits to being Osama bin Laden's personal driver claiming he needed the $200 monthly salary that came with the job.CanWest News Service, Lawyer alleges preferential treatment of Khadr, April 8, 2008 He was charged with "conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism" but a judge declared the judicial system in place at the time unconstitutional and those charges were dropped on June 5, 2007. He was then held, without being charged, as an enemy combatant. He was brought up on new charges on July 21, 2008, and found guilty of "providing material support" to al Qaeda, but was cleared of terrorism conspiracy charges. He was sentenced to five-and-a-half years of imprisonment by a military jury, being counted as having already served five years of the sentence at the time. A Pentagon spokesman noted that Hamdan may still be considered an "enemy combatant" upon completing his sentence and detained indefinitely. Despite the threat to detain him indefinitely, the U.S. in November 2008 transferred him to Yemen to serve out the remainder of his sentence. He was released January 8, 2009 to live with his family in Sana. Hamdan's numerous legal efforts, as one of the first detainees at Guantanamo Bay to be given formal charges, have been a focal point for debate and criticism relating to the questions of indefinite detention in the "War on Terror", the ability of Guantanamo Bay detainees to petition for habeas corpus, the validity of military commissions rather than civil trials for alleged terrorists, and the correct implementation of the Geneva Conventions for terrorist suspects. His case was the instigation for the United States Supreme Court decision Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006), and his case has been covered by major U.S. news organizations since 2004. Capture in Afghanistan Salim Hamdan was captured in southern Afghanistan on November 24, 2001. According to documents obtained by the Associated Press, he was captured in a car with four other alleged al-Qaeda associates, including Osama bin laden's son-in-law, three of whom were killed in a firefight with Afghan forces. Hamdan and the other surviving associate in the car were later turned over to U.S. forces. Trial timeline On July 14, 2004, the Department of Defense formally charged Salim Ahmed Hamdan with conspiracy, for trial by military commission under the President’s Order of November 13, 2001. On November 8, 2004 the United States District Court for the District of Columbia halted Hamdan's military commission because no "competent tribunal" had determined whether Mr Hamdan was a POW (as required by the Geneva Conventions), and because regardless of such determination, the commission violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). On October 22, 2004, General John D. Altenburg, the retired officer in overall charge of the commissions, removed three of the six original Military Commission members to avoid the potential of bias. The Bush administration appealed the ruling that halted the military commissions. In the meantime, the Department of Defense started Combatant Status Review Tribunals of all the Guantanamo detainees. The tribunals extended from July 2004 through March 2005. On July 17, 2005, a three-judge panel on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned Hamdan's appeal. The panel said that the Geneva Convention does not apply to members of al-Qaida. The military commissions were set back in motion. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was one of the judges on that panel, and voted against Hamdan's appeal, shortly before being nominated for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. On November 7, 2005, the Supreme Court issued a writ of certiorari agreeing to review the decision of the DC Circuit Court. Roberts recused himself due to his earlier participation in the case. On June 29, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that the military commissions ordered for Hamdan and other detainees violated the UCMJ and the Geneva Convention. Supreme Court opinion On June 29, 2006, the Supreme Court delivered its opinion in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. Justice Roberts recused himself due to earlier participation in the case as a judge on the DC circuit court prior to his nomination for chief justice. The case also considered whether the Supreme Court had the jurisdiction to enforce the articles of the 1949 Geneva convention and whether Congress had the power to prevent the Court from reviewing the case of an accused enemy combatant before his military commission. In a 5-3 plurality, the Court held that the military commissions which were established to try the detainees at Guantanamo Bay lack "the power to proceed because its structures and procedures violate both the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the four Geneva Conventions signed in 1949."[ Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, Supreme Court Syllabus], pg. 4., point 4. The ruling specifies Common Article 3 of the Third Geneva Convention as the provision that was violated. In response to the Supreme Court decision, Congress passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006, in an attempt grant the President the necessary authority to create the commissions. Hamdan's trial is scheduled to begin in June 2006. Charged under the Military Commissions Act New charges were laid against Hamdan on May 10, 2007. Hamdan is charged with conspiracy and "providing support for terrorism". According to the Houston Chronicle, Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift, Hamdan's lawyer, argued that conspiracy charges were inappropriate for junior people like Hamdan. According to the Houston Chronicle, Commander Jeffrey Gordon, a DoD spokesman, disputed the assertion that Hamdan was just a low-level player. Charges dismissed In two separate rulings all charges were dropped against Hamdan and Canadian youth Omar Khadr, on the 4th June 2007. Army Judge Colonel Peter Brownback, and US Navy Judge Captain Keith J. Allred, ruled that the men's Combatant Status Review Tribunals had merely confirmed the men's enemy combatants status; while the Military Commissions Act only gave the Guantanamo Military Commissions the authority to try "unlawful enemy combatants", they lacked the jurisdiction to try the men. James Westhead of the BBC said that the court ruling, which affects all 380 Guantanamo inmates, represents a "stunning blow" against the Bush administration's efforts at bringing the inmates to trial. According to the BBC, following the rulings, the US government appears to have three legal options open to it: * Scrap the legal process and start again. * Redefine the inmates as "unlawful" enemy combatants at a separate hearing. * Appeal the court ruling. But there is no appeals court, the "military commission review" has not been set up yet. According to the Washington Post the ruling made more likely the passage of a Senate bill restoring access to the US Court system to the Guantanamo captives. The Washington Post speculated that the ruling might force whatever trials take place to take place in the civilian court system, or in the already established military courts martial system. Deemed an "illegal enemy combatant" On December 21, 2007 Allred heard arguments, and made his ruling, that Hamdan was an "illegal enemy combatant", who could be tried by a military commission. Lieutenant Brian Mizer, one of Hamdan's lawyers, said his team had introduced evidence that: February 8, 2008 hearing A hearing was convened on February 8, 2008. Mental stability Hamdan's lawyers have filed a request with Allred requesting he be moved from solitary confinement. They argue that solitary confinement is having such a negative impact on his mental stability that it is impairing his ability to assist in his own defense. Andrea Prasow wrote: His attorneys say he had only been allowed two exercise periods in the previous month. Hamdan had been housed in camp 4, the camp for the most compliant captives until December 2006. Captives in camp 4 wear white uniforms, sleep in communal dormitories and can use an exercise yard and mingle with other captives for up to 20 hours a day. Hamdan was moved to camp 5, where captives spend almost the entire day in isolation in a windowless cell. Emily Keram, a [psychiatrist examined Hamdan and, according to the Seattle Post Intelligencer: Hamdan's lawyers compared the treatment accorded to Omar Khadr with that accorded to Hamdan. They have requested Khadr appear before Allred to explain why he was housed in Camp Four. They pointed out that Khadr had been allowed a phone call to his family. According to the International Herald Tribune, his lawyers said Guantánamo drives prisoners insane, lawyers say, By William Glaberson, April 26, 2008, International Herald Tribune Missing records Hamdan's Defense expressed a concern that the Prosecution had been withholding some of Hamdan's records from them. Lieutenant Commander Timothy Stone told Allred that they had turned over copies of records, except for those from 2002—which they had been unable to locate. However, he assured Allred they were still looking for them. Chief Prosecutor Colonel Lawrence Morris guessed that the missing files contained "generally innocuous stuff": Access to the high value detainees Hamdan's lawyers requested access to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other thirteen high value detainees. Chief Prosecutor Morris replied: Allred postponed ruling on Hamdan's lawyer's request. Boycott On April 29, after seven years of cooperation, Hamdan announced he was joining the on-going Boycott of Guantanamo Military Commissions, stating "America tells the whole world that it has freedom and justice. I do not see that...There are almost 100 detainees here. We do not see any rights. You do not give us the least bit of humanity...Give me a just court...Try me with a just law.'"Colson, Deborah. Human Rights First, Another Boycott at Guantánamo, Another Test for the Military Commission System, April 30, 2008 July hearings Hamdan's actual trial began on July 21, 2008. mirror mirror On July 26, the New York Times reported that "Mr. Hamdan's offenses are not enumerated anywhere, but appear to include checking the oil and the tire pressure."New York Times, July 26, 2008.Matt Bors, Editorial Cartoon, for the Village Voice and Cleveland Free Times, August 7, 2008, found at American Association of Editorial cartoonists website. Accessed August 22, 2008. Matt Bors, a syndicated editorial cartoonist, lampooned the Government's case against Hamdam, as an attempt to "destroy Bin laden's vast network of enablers," which included "drivers, wives, landlords and those to feed him," as well as "his tailor." Jury selection Thirteen candidates for the jury went through voir dire. Six jury members, and an alternate, were selected on July 21, 2008. Reuters reports that the jurors identities were being kept secret. mirror Reuters reports that a juror who was working in the Pentagon during al Qaeda's attack on the Pentagon was turned down for jury duty. Another officer who knew the Captain of the was also turned down. Reuters reported he was a former police officer, and quoted him as saying: : Another officer who was worried about a good friend who was working in the Pentagon was accepted. Innocence plea Hamdan pled not guilty to all charges. mirror Evidence from coercive testimony proscribed According to USA Today Hamdan's Presiding Officer, Keith Allred, ruled that Prosecutors could not use confessions he made when in American custody in Bagram Theater Internment Facility and a detention facility in Panjshir, because he was subjected to coercive interrogation techniques. According to the Washington Post Chief Prosecutor Lawrence Morris responded to the ruling by saying: Allegations of responsibility Carol Rosenberg, writing in the Miami Herald, reported that on Monday July 28, 2008 Prosecution witnesses mirror : Role of Abdellah Tabarak On July 24, 2008 Michael St. Ours, a Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent, testified that Abdellah Tabarak had been in charge of Osama bin Laden's security detail. mirror According to Carol Rosenberg of the Miami Herald, St. Ours "looked stunned" when Hamdan's Defense Counsel asked him if he knew that Tabarak had been released without charge. mirror Andrew Cohen, a legal affairs commentator for CBS News, called the testimony that Tabarak had been released a "colossal embarrassment". mirror He commented: Sexual humiliation Hamdan's Prosecution had failed to comply with a ruling from the Presiding Officer to hand over documents from Hamdan's interrogations until July 28, 2008. mirror On July 31, 2008 the New York Times reported that Hamdan's lawyers found a document from one of his interrogators that confirmed Hamdan's account that female interrogators had subjected him to sexual interrogation. Harry H. Schneider Jr., said that after reading this document Hamdan's account of sexual humiliation was “right on the money”. Prosecutor John Murphy disputed that what the interrogation document described should be described as coercion. He stated: Robert McFadden's testimony that Hamdan swore an oath of fealty to Bin Laden There was controversy over whether former FBI agent Robert McFadden's testimony would be allowed. mirror The Presiding Officer had already ruled that the testimony of most of Hamdan's first interrogators was inadmissible, due to the use of coercion. mirror On July 29, 2008 The Presiding Officer ruled that he was going to penalize the Prosecution for falling to release documents to the Defense by disallowing McFadden's testimony. mirror The key testimony expected from McFadden was that he heard Hamdan confirm that he had sworn "bayat", a kind of oath of fealty, to Osama Bin Laden. Allred decided to allow McFadden's testimony. mirror Phone Call When Salim Ahmed Hamdan was allowed a call home, on August 6, 2008, after his Guantanamo Military Commission acquitted him of conspiracy and convicted him of material support for terrorism, his was the 107th call. mirror Sentencing On August 7, 2008, Hamdan was sentenced by the military jury to five and a half years (66 months) imprisonment. Prosecutors had urged a sentence of 30 years-to-life, while Hamdan's defense had recommended less than 45 months. At the time he was already credited for serving 61 months, meaning his sentence imposed only five months additional imprisonment. A Pentagon spokesman noted that Hamdan's status could revert to "enemy combatant" after his sentence was served, and as such he could be indefinitely detained. Allred, the Presiding Officer of his Commission, called Hamdan a "small player," and stated this sentence meant Hamdan would be eligible to having his continued detention reviewed by an Administrative Review Board when his sentence was over. mirror mirror He told Hamdan: : Former Chief Prosecutor Morris Davis commented: : According to the Associated Press former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs Charles "Cully" Stimson's reaction to the sentence was mirror : The Associated Press reported that Stimson sent an e-mail about Hamdan's conviction that said: : The American Civil Liberties Union's spokesman Ben Wizner, said: : On August 10, 2008 Josh White, writing in the Washington Post reported that Hamdan Prosecution and Defense had discussed a plea deal in late 2006. mirror He reported that Charles "Cully" Stimson, who was then the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs, had agreed to make a case for a negotiated sentence of ten years. According to White Stimson said more senior Bush officials "were stubborn" and "rejected the notion of a 'mere 10 years.'" Bush administration officials had rejected the idea of a ten year sentence as too lenient. On August 11, 2008 Jess Bravin of the Wall Street Journal reported on interviews with one of Hamdan's jurors. mirror Bravin reported that the juror said the verdict was not intended to be a rebuke to the Bush administration, rather, "...it came down to the evidence that we were allowed to see." On September 26, 2008 Lawrence Morris, Guantanamo's Chief Prosecutor asked for a new sentencing hearing for Hamdan. mirror Morris has requested Hamdan not be granted credit for time served, and should thus serve a further six years. The Department of Defense argues that they can continue to hold the captives who receive sentences from the Military Commissions, even after their sentences are over. Hamdan's military lawyer, Lt. Cmdr. Brian Mizer]] said mirror : : On 31 October 2008 Allred ruled that Hamdan's sentence would not be reconsidered. mirror Return to Yemen In November 2008, Hamdan was transferred to Yemen to serve out the remaining month of his sentence. His family were not allowed to meet him at Sanaa International Airport.Al Jazeera, Bin Laden driver arrives in Yemen, November 26, 2008 Chuck Schmitz, one of Hamdan's translators in Guantanamo, has been approached to co-write a book with Hamdan, about his experiences. more Schmitz was a Fulbright Scholar when he was approached to translate for Hamdan in 2004, and is now a Professor at Towson University. See also * The Oath (2010 film) References External links * Full military court to review appeal of bin Laden's driver * Lawyers Appeal Guantánamo Trial Convictions Andy Worthington February 1, 2010 * Testimony of Dr. Emily A. Keram about Salim Ahmed Hamdan * Charge Sheets (.pdf), Department of Defense * Commissions Transcripts, Exhibits, and Allied Papers, Department of Defense * Commission Scheduling, Department of Defense * [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/magazine/08yemen.html?pagewanted=print Detailed January 8, 2006, New York Times article on Hamdan case.] * Justice System For Detainees Is Moving At a Crawl Washington Post May 6, 2008 * DC District Court Ruling on War Crimes Trial Motion (July 2008) * * mirror *Hamdan sentenced to 5 1/2 years msnbc August 7, 2008 *A critical overview of Salim Hamdan’s Guantánamo trial and the dubious verdict Andy Worthington August 6, 2008 Category:Living people Category:1970 births Category:Yemeni extrajudicial prisoners of the United States Salim Ahmed Hamdan Category:Guantanamo detainees known to have been released Category:Yemeni people fr:Salim Ahmed Hamdan nl:Salim Hamdan